These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

They make life much easier:  left to right

1.  Garden utility cart.  Handy for transporting heavy loads with ease, or small children.

2.  Straw hat with 3" or greater brim with vent holes above inner sweat band and bolo tie to keep it stay put  for Summertime wear.

3.  2 lb sledge hammer.  Makes driving light duty fence posts a snap.

4.  Army issue rain poncho.  This is just about my most favorite thing.  Keeps you nice and dry and you can still use both hands to do chores, or stay alive.

5.  LED headlight.  Same principle, hands free light for work after dark.

6.  Boonie hat with string tie for Springtime and Fall wear.

7. Rubber boots.  Gotta have 'em.

8.  Padded coveralls.  These are lightweight and provide a lot of warmth.  Add stretchy belt to keep them in place.

9.  Grabber.  Handy around the house and yard to extend your reach, or pick a burr out of a llama's tail.

10.  Boggin with ear flaps and neck tie.  Helps keep 'ya warm in the Wintertime, and it's coming.

Summertime Equine Oil

"Happy Jack Frost", a sensitive mule, finds this combination of a popular bath oil, reputed to have insect repellent properties, to his liking.  Add about 12 drops per ounce of Eucalyptus Essential Oil to this product for an effective rub.  No need to spray.  Just pour a little into the palm of your hand and apply. About one-fourth cup should be adequate and can increase or decrease according to size and location.

Smile Yourself Happy

It has been said that "The eyes are the Windows of the Soul".

I have looked into the sad little eyes of the little girls who have lost their Daddy, who had taken his own life.

I've looked into the empty eyes of the man that I loved when he told me he was leaving.

I've looked into the eyes of beloved pets that have begged me to end their suffering.

And I have looked into the Eyes of Love.

I also have looked into the eyes of love through my family and friends and my little canine companion gazing at me sleepily from the corner of my couch.  Those big brown eyes whose love cannot be fathomed.

Smile.  It may seem impossible sometimes.  Some might say it denies the cold, hard facts of life.  It might be so.  But one thing I do know is that we cannot live without joy.  No, we aren't going to sit around on a cloud for all of our life but we can't live under one.

Our souls aren't equipped to live in sadness all of the time.  We must hold on to any rescue attempts like a drowning man who holds on to a life preserver attached to someone who can haul you in to shore and maybe that "Easy Bake Oven" or "Cabbage Patch Doll" or "Furbee" didn't get there until after Christmas, but hey, It still got there.  So smile yourself happy, pretty soon your feelings will catch up with your face.

Love,
Cheryl

Easy Street Is A Rough Road

  When people ask me how I got started with this "Simple Life", I often relate to them the story of a sweltering  day in Louisiana.

  I was on "Easy Street" financially.  I was working as an Operations Supervisor for a major freight company.  The job had many long hours and high stress.

One extremely hot afternoon at that job, I had a few moments to walk around on the dock. As I was waiting for my drivers to return with their outbound freight so I could work towards getting to the end of that miserably hot day, a young lady in an old car pulled up to where I was standing.  She got out of a 4-door car and asked me if I wanted to buy some homemade ice cream for $1 a cup.  "Sure", I said to her, and I thought to myself , "who wouldn't want a cup of homemade ice cream on a day like today?"  When I returned from my office with her dollar, she neatly prepared a styro-foam cup along with a plastic spoon and paper napkin, opened the back door of that old car and scooped out a ladle of the sweet, creamy concoction from an old ice cream freezer that was sat on the back seat.  No, I did not care if there was a kitchen permit. That lady had taken what she had and made something out of it.

  Who knows what the financial need was that would have prompted such bravery on her behalf?  A financial reward for her efforts was to be harvested along Industrial Drive that day and I admired her for it.  Nothing I had learned in GBA 490 had prepared me for what the Ice Cream Lady had taught me that day.

What do you have in your house?  Are you going to do something with it?  Each one of us has been given unique talents and giftings that can be used to meet financial need. Whatever it may be.  Look around you, there is a good chance that you might just be brave enough to find it and use it.

c.

How Is A Mule Like A Man?

1.)  Mules think about themselves a lot.

2.) Mules can be coaxed into confinement with good food.

3.) Mules will act like mules because they are mules.

4.)  Mules like a lot of affection.

5.)  Mules cannot be coerced into doing what they don't want to do but can be petted into anything.

6.)  Mules like to be the boss of other mules.

7.)  Mules like to get attention by honking loudly.

8.)  Mules like to stand in the shade but will work if trained to do so.

9.)  Mules like to wallow around in the dirt.

10.)  Mules are tough can carry heavy loads.

11.)  If you beat your mule he will not like you.

12.)  If you treat your mule with kindness and understanding, a good mule can be your best friend.  :)

Don't Start Today With Yesterday's Poo

Organic material is highly useful and beneficial for plant nutrition.  The process of composting allows for the decomposition of this organic matter and allows it to break down into a usable form in the home vegetable garden.

Daily life here on Simple Life Farm starts out with basic animal care.  Food and clean water are provided for the animals every morning and those creatures that have been confined overnight for their protection have waste products to be removed.  This task is very small if accomplished each day.  Very few minutes and physical effort are needed on a daily basis to remove this waste or it breeds a mountain of poo that harbors files, stink and all sorts of vermin.  This waste is added to the compost heap at the edge of our home vegetable garden and provides future organic material useful for plant nutrition.

Much like the garden of our lives, the poo that accumulates in daily living must be brought to the compost heap each day in order to be broken down into something useful, a victorious life filled with the fruit of days  and a life well spent.  Don't allow anger, bitterness & regrets to heap up where you live. It must be dedicated to the poop pile every day or the task of removal is tough and tiresome and sometimes even impossible without help.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, don't start it out with old poop.

Herbal Lemonade

A fellow Herb Society member acquired this recipe on a trip to Herb Day in Montgomery, Alabama.

This is quick and super easy and makes for a pretty presentation on special occasions.

Easy Herbal Lemonade

1 Pkg Lemonade Drink Mix
Handful Fresh Apple Mint

Prepare Lemonade Drink Mix according to package directions.  Rinse and gently twist to bruise Apple Mint.
Add to prepared lemonade and chill or serve over ice.  (and it's okay to drink the Apple Mint if it ends up in a cup!)